All eyes on Anfield as City look to gain ground

The fact that City’s army of London-based fans have chosen to take the earlier trains to Manchester, even though they are 30 minutes slower than the later trains, perhaps signals that it is not just Mark Hughes who will have his eye on the game at Anfield today.  How times have changed.

City entered Mark Hughes’s notional second block of games this season with a draw against Wigan.  A good result seen as it ended with 10 men against a well-organised side that always give City a run for their money.  Saturday’s results at Wolves and White Hart Lane, alongside the ongoing dropping of points by the so-called ‘top four,’ lend weight to the argument that this will be one of the Premiership’s most open seasons in its’ short history.  At last. 

Today the world’s press will focus on the game at Anfield, and then no doubt splurge enough predictable, pre-written pap to fill a new landfill site.   City fans will emerge from Mary D’s Beamish Bar with a smile on their face if both sides share the points, before taking their seats to see City quietly go about their slow overtake up the inside lane.  For at this point in the season, City sits in a sweet spot that suits the club perfectly.  Not so high up the table to attract attention, a sneaky game in hand, and crucially in touch with the leaders.

Naturally, nothing less than a win will do today.   A draw away to Wigan followed by an interruption to the home record would be seen as the potential beginnings of wheels coming off.  City will field a strong team against theoretically tired Fulham who played on Thursday night, so a win should be straight-forward.  But Fulham have a tendency to surprise, especially in the face of adversity so the defence will need to be on its’ guard.  In fact City should be targeting 9 points from their next three league games in preparation for the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham to come.  A strong run to the year-end will confirm what many fans prefer to keep quiet for fear of exciting the demons.  Say no more!

On the player front it will be interesting to see whether Petrov is rewarded with a start.  The signs are that there could be more goals to come from Petrov, so why not.  It’s healthy rotation that keeps others on their toes.  In the meantime, it will be a joy to continue watching the likes of Barry (see Observer interview) and De Jong ply their trade.  As one friend recently put it, “De Jong is playing the Makelele role better than Makelele.”  If anything it is our longer-serving stars that need to come out of their shells somewhat.  SWP has been guilty of giving the ball away too cheaply at times, while Ireland has yet to really start firing.  Tevez is surely like the first sip of a fine Malbec, the best is yet to come.  And a final word on Robinho.  Yes we can live without him – but we can also live with him.  He will yet prove his worth with the under-rated talent around him.

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